Ravage and Atone
by Wrath Flamesoul
Summary: After so many years, what starts as a battle that is not a battle becomes what one may only politely describe as a dance...


**Disclaimer: **Neji somehow got out of the handcuffs I used to chain him to my bed, so now I'm forcing Sasuke and Madara to help me find him. Actually, Madara sort of told me it was either have him tag along and get some screen time or be forced into a dark closet with him for an hour. Unfortunately for him, he has _very _nice abs. But he's still going to tag along anyway.

**Apology: **I REGRET NOTHING! BAHAHAHAHA -cough- HAHAHAHAHA -hack, cough- HA -gag- *passes out* _**This is Madara speaking. I'm taking Wrath and never bringing her back. **_Wheee~…

**Ravage and Atone**

**

* * *

**

Two boys, both alike in stubbornness and pride, meet for the first time in the Chunin exams. They look upon each other with cold indifference, and speak to ach other as though thy have been bitter enemies from birth. Neither backs down. Neither admits that the other intimidates him. Neither looks away until their teammates drag them in separate directions.

Later, in the forest, the two boys come into contact with each other again. One is unconscious and still in unbelievable agony, and the other is nearby, watching as his teammates help to fight off those who attack the other's team. One awakens and nearly destroys the opponents; the other watches on, too afraid to help or hinder the darkness he bears witness to.

In the preliminary rounds, one watches as the other is felled soon after barely winning his match. The watcher tries not to show his worry and anger, but it ends up going beyond his control and he almost murders his own cousin when she dares to verbally defy him for the first time in her life.

In the final rounds, one worries excessively as he fights against _another _non-believing scum bag. This time he loses and discovers the truth of his father's death. As he comes to terms with his past as it truly took place, a small part of him wonders how his… equal is faring in his match.

Outside, one is fighting against what can only be described as a monster. A part of him wonders a little dejectedly why the other isn't watching him now – was he disgusted by the show of weakness a month earlier?

The village is attacked; one follows after the monster and fights to protect his teammates as best he can. The other runs through the village, desperately trying to find his equal while he cuts down any opponent in his way. Both are terrified for the other, but neither will admit to themselves.

One is enticed into leaving to join an old pedophile with an affinity for serpents and forbidden jutsu. The other tries as hard as he can to stay with his group, but in the end must place his trust in another as he fights against an enemy that nearly kills him. The other wakes in a hospital days later, cursing himself for his failure and vowing to meet his equal again, hopefully someday in the near future. His equal arrives at the rendezvous point where the snake pedophile waits greedily for him, and heaves a sigh of relief when he discovers he will be allowed another two years of life – plenty of time to find his equal again.

The Konoha ninja becomes a Chunin, and then a Jonin in the following years. His heart aches with each passing day, and he begins to fear that he might never see _that man_ again.

The missing ninja is forced into years of hell, taken advantage of by the pedophile and that _disgusting _tongue of his. With every night he is abused, he becomes more advanced in the art of love making, and more skilled in the art of supplementing his equal in this place of the vile monster he is bound to.

One day, the years of torment becomes too much, and the feeling that he has betrayed his heart's desire by laying with the bastard pedophile drives him to murder his rapist teacher, destroying his essence so that he is free to leave this hellish place – or so he assumes.

They come so close to meeting each other – not once but again and again. How many of their missions and travelings put them so close to each other that it was only cruel irony that kept them from sensing each other?

One finally succeeds in his goal of murdering his family's killer, but another perverted sadist – this one his family's _founder _– gets a hold of him. Before the hell starts over again, this one learns that the man he killed did everything in his power to keep peace and protect him. Agony shatters his willpower, and he falls readily into the hands of the schizophrenic megalomaniac who is too powerful to fight against.

The other discovers his desire's success, and then learns the truth behind it. Sorrow and fury fill his soul, and he abandons his village in an attempt to find the other before someone else kills him. No family loyalty remains – there is only the need to see _him _again.

Somehow, they encounter each other at last – one managing to rid himself of both the schizophrenic and his little pet plant man, the other not caring anymore what happens to him, just so long as he could see his secret love one last time.

They meet at a small clearing where the sunlight shines like liquid gold. One cannot take his eyes from him; the other cannot move towards him.

And so at last the dance begun.

܍܍܍

How painful is it, Uchiha?

How painful is it, standing there, looking at me after the way you _abandoned _me? It's been three long, agonizing years since you left me. Do you have any idea how much I want to hate you right now? Any idea at all how _vile _and _despicable _it is to realize there isn't a shred of hatred in me? I want so badly to hurt you, to make you feel the suffering you put me through… And yet at the same time I want nothing more than to hold you in my arms, to have your skin touch mine and _know _it's really you.

I've been denying my feelings for you for years… and now here you stand, looking as though you could care less if I loved you or not.

܍܍܍

_Neji took seven long, deliberate, slow strides towards Sasuke, fists clenching and loosening. His target stood motionlessly, watching the advancing man with eyes that saw everything and nothing at all. Those eyes…_

܍܍܍

You look so pissed, Hyuga. What exactly were you expecting me to do when you finally caught up to me?

I hope you weren't expecting a water show, Neji. Obviously I'm not the type to cry over silly little reunions. After everything I've done for that megalomaniacal Madara, do you really still believe there's anything left for me to shed but blood? I have followed Itachi's footsteps — I have destroyed my emotions and become the ultimate ninja for my sacrifice. Itachi never wept after that night; neither will I ever weep again.

I wonder, though; what sort of stimulus would it take to break you? I wonder how far I will push you before you're simply too easy to control…

܍܍܍

_Neji halted in front of Sasuke, and the two stared each other down, one glaring, one smirking sardonically as thoughts twisted by years of pain and despair raced through his mind._

_A simple question murmured from between Sasuke's lips — "You gonna cry, Hyuga?" — and before he knew it, Neji's fist came racing towards his jaw._

܍܍܍

_Fuck _you, Uchiha!

Dammit. Damn _you. _Damn the bastards that turned you into this… this _thing._ Go to hell, where you belong! And while you're at it, get rid of that damn confidence before I tear that smug little grin right off your damn face!

I hate you. I hate hating you. I hate that I've lost sleep and friends and family because of the way I feel about you. I hate that I've abandoned my village for you. I hate that you don't even care how much I've forsaken because of you. I hate that you've haunted my every waking hour, and now you have the _sack _to stand here and look at me like I've just told you the best joke you've ever heard. _I hate you!_

܍܍܍

_Sasuke side-stepped the swing, and Neji staggered, thrown off-balance as his fist sliced through air instead of slamming against flesh and sinew and bone. In the next instant Neji felt a bone-crunching force drive the air from his lungs, and he was thrown onto his back, yards away from where Sasuke stood crouched in the finishing pose of his uppercut._

_Slowly, the Uchiha straightened and looked scornfully at his felled opposite. Neji could do nothing but writhe under the pain of his broken ribcage as Sasuke stalked ever closer towards him._

܍܍܍

How pathetic, Hyuga. Here I thought you would have the sense to at least block such an obvious blow. You might not be worth my time, even after all the years you've had to train.

That look on your face is rather appealing, though. Half hatred, half pain. Almost adorable on you; it almost makes me feel like protecting you. Except, of course, I'm the one attacking you in the first place. Don't look so angry at me — I'm not the idiot who decided he was going to attack an opponent and forget to block during his punch. I wonder how many ribs I broke; it had to be at least three or four.

Oh, come on, you big baby. Get up. You can't tell me a couple of broken ribs are more painful than that curse mark on your forehead. I know that's been used on you at least once. I would have loved to see your reaction to that — it would have been a beautiful sight, I'm sure.

܍܍܍

_Sasuke crouched close to Neji's head, smirking as the long-haired ninja glared and spat a string of curses at him. For the ferocity of his punch, Sasuke was rather patient with Neji now, not interrupting as he snarled insult after insult at the raven-haired man above him. However, it was likely that the Uchiha was simply enjoying the pain that flitted across Neji's face with each breath the man took; Sasuke's smirk quickly grew into a twisted grin as Neji's accusations became faint and strained with his agony._

_Finally, Neji quieted; it wasn't worth the pain he was in. And he was wasting time, yelling at Sasuke like a five-year-old instead of doing something — though what, exactly, he wasn't entirely sure._

܍܍܍

Dammit. Damn you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't… I wouldn't be here. I would be at home, and I would feel like I belonged there.

But no; no, because you exist, I don't belong anywhere. Not now. I gave up everything for you—I nearly died in a futile attempt to save you, and look at how you so _generously _thanked me! You bastard!

Just kill me; I know that's what you want to do. Just do whatever the hell you plan to do and let me die. Obviously I'm nothing more than practice for you. Right?

܍܍܍

_Neji spoke his thoughts after the pain in his chest subsided. Sasuke flinched at the words, jerking back as though he'd been struck across the face. His black eyes widened infinitesimally, and for several long moments he regarded th Hyuga with cold, calculating eyes. Was that truly what he wanted? No._

_But then, what exactly did he want from the young man before him? For once, Sasuke had no answer._

܍܍܍

Kill you, Hyuga? Did you expect that was my intent when you came before me today? Did you believe you were walking into a fight to the death?

You know so little about me, Neji. You know nothing of who I am now… and yet you still pursued me. Why? Was it merely a whim that brought you here today, or was it something that runs so deeply that even you can't decipher it?

܍܍܍

Damn it, Uchiha, just do it. Finish me off. What do I have to do, beg?

܍܍܍

_Neji snarled at Sasuke again, and the venom was so evident in his voice that Sasuke felt his skin should be melting under the ferocity of the other ninja's voice. A slow smirk that was not a smirk slid across Sasuke's lips, small, but not so small that Neji could not see it through his blurring vision. He blamed the shock from his wound for the appreciative smile he saw, but as his eyes closed, the smallest voice of reason — one he had so eagerly listened to for his entire life — whispered to him, "No… You are wrong."_

܍܍܍

Jeez, way to go. It takes a bunch of broken ribs and a little swearing to take you down, huh? I can't believe how weak you still are. How defenseless…

Great. "Killed my emotions," have I? An "ultimate ninja," am I? And yet I still feel for this pathetic excuse for a warrior. I can't kill him, even though he could very easily kill me. No, I want to bloody _help _him, now. I want to freaking _protect him._

Oh, here we go; _now _you wake up. What a damn pussy — _shit!_

܍܍܍

_Neji fought violently against the blackness, and threw his open hand up so that it connected with Sasuke's jaw, slamming his teeth together with a loud click. Sasuke rolled back and onto his feet as Neji staggered upright, swearing and spitting blood from his tongue, bitten halfway through in the blow. The Uchiha's face darkened with rage, but Neji could still see that psychotic pleasure burning in his onyx gaze as Sasuke finally regained his composure and wiped blood from his chin, only to have more of the fluid stain the skin under his lip again._

"_You fight dirty," he hissed at Neji. "I guess all those death threats might have something to back them up, after all." Neji scowled as his opponent chuckled. How weak did this bastard think he was, anyway?_

܍܍܍

You son of a _bitch._

What the hell do you want from me? Since you apparently don't want me dead, what else is there for you to gain by tormenting me like this?

܍܍܍

That look of despair is almost precious, Hyuga. Living with those Konoha fledglings has certainly made you soft, hasn't it? But then, you've always been rather shoddy at controlling your expressions. It's so easy to see your confusion… and your hatred.

܍܍܍

_Neji started as Sasuke suddenly appeared inches away from him. The smirk was back on the Uchiha's face, but it was contorted by the hint of a derisive snarl._

"_What's the matter, Hyuga?" he hissed. "Am I making you angry? You look like a toddler who doesn't understand why he's on time-out." Neji's lips twitched as he fought a snarl of his own, but Sasuke wasn't finished speaking. "You poor thing," he cooed mockingly. He started taking slow, circling steps around Neji, like a wolf looking for the best angle to attack from._

"_Get it over with," Neji snarled at him as his steps brought him in front of the Hyuga again. "Whatever you're planning, why don't you just do it already?"_

"_Because I'm already doing it," Sasuke answered, enunciating each word carefully, as though he were explaining something obvious to an incredibly stupid child. "Haven't you seen it yet, Hyuga? I'm trying to find your breaking point. I want to see you crumble."_

܍܍܍

Break me? Just how blind have you become, Uchiha?

You've destroyed everything I've become; I'm nothing more than another rogue ninja, and it's because of you. How much more do I need to suffer for your sake? Or do you assume that because I'm not bleeding, I can still be broken further?

܍܍܍

_Neji's face twisted in fury, and he again lunged at Sasuke, throwing the raven-haired boy onto his back. Stunned, Sasuke barely had time to get to his feet before Neji's foot came crashing down where his chest had been moments before._

"_Go to hell, Sasuke!" the Hyuga yelled, charging at him and throwing a barrage of gentle fist attacks. A few hit their marks despite Sasuke's speed, and the two broke away, panting and glaring furiously at each other._

_It was Sasuke who broke the silence first._

"_You're weak, Hyuga," Sasuke taunted his opposite. "What good are emotions? All they do is reveal your weaknesses. If you truly want to be a better ninja, why not destroy those emotions entirely?"_

"_Emotions are not weaknesses," Neji spat. There is an odd fire burning in his voice now, and an alien emotion Sasuke did not recognize replaced his previous fury, melting the anger from his snow-pale eyes. Slowly, as if he was in a daze, Neji straightened from his crouch. He flickered out of sight, and with a start, Sasuke realized the Hyuga had learned the body flicker technique over the years._

"_Emotions drive us, Sasuke." Neji's voice — and presence — reappeared behind his target. "Why else would you have left us?"_

_Sasuke turned too late, and in another moment Neji had thrown him against a tree and forced his lips against Sasuke's. Instinct—or something deeper—took hold of both young men, boys who were not adults but who held the knowledge of people twice their age._

_And it was there, alone in a forest where no enemy or friend could see them, that one dance came to an end, while another dance began. And so two boys — so alike in dignity — became one for the first of many times to come._

܍܍܍

You aren't going fast enough, Hyuga. What, are you afraid to officially become a disgrace to the village? Give me a break—and while you're at it, hurry the hell up and take your damn shirt off.

܍܍܍

You look irritated, Uchiha. Can't wait for a few seconds, can you? Even though I've waited for years.

There, the stupid thing's off… Why the hell did you have to wear something with this many straps and buttons? And you were annoyed with me for taking too long? You're a real piece of work. I might just leave the damn thing on next time…

Next time? Will there be a next time? _Can _there be a next time?

܍܍܍

What's with the face, Hyuga—_Ah!_

That _hurt,_ you bastard! Fuck, it's not like I shit lotion!

܍܍܍

Get your nails out of my shoulders, Sasu… No, never mind, keep them there. Great, it looks like I'm a masochist as much as he's a sadist. Brilliant.

܍܍܍

_Sasuke groaned as Neji thrust into him, reveling in the pain and pleasure as the two defiled the forest floor with their passion._

_Neji's shoulders pulsed, the muscles rippling smoothly as he continued to drive the Uchiha underneath him into a craze. But Sasuke surprised him, suddenly rolling their bodies until he was situated on top. His dark eyes stared into Neji's as he smirked down at his… his desire._

"_You don't get to have all the fun," he informed Neji in a thick voice. He leaned down and bit into Neji's ear as he rotated his hips around the other man's member. Beneath him, Neji growled and tensed, and again Sasuke allowed himself a short moment to admire the way his lover's muscles rippled in his pleasure._

_With one final twist, Sasuke threw himself and Neji into an inferno that consumed everything; every pretense, every lie, every protective barrier disintegrated into ash, and the two were left to face the truth together. _

_And it was there, alone in a forest where no enemy or friend could see them, that one dance came to an end, while another dance began. And so two boys — so alike in dignity — became one for the first of many times to come._

_

* * *

_

**Author's Note: BAHAHA YOU WERE EXPECTING ANOTHER GRAPHIC YAOI! (Actually, so was I. XD) I figured I wanted to show a more platonic side of their relationship, and tried to be as realistic as I could manage with their abilities and personalities. Besides, you should be able to guess how the rest of it went. X3**

**Naughty, naughty Sasuke. And Neji. Such profane language; your fathers must be trying to hit you guys from the 'bove for that. We'll totally ignore the fact that you're sexing each other like a pair of bunnies…**

**This is probably not going to be the last NejiSasuNeji I do, but for right now I am happy to say the first quartet is finished. There may be others, and they will be very, very steamy.**

**Longest yaoi ever! 8D**


End file.
